Russia
by Apple Senorita
Summary: Kai comes back with some unfinished business for Bryan, with Rei in tow. Are the domesticated Blitzkrieg Boys too much for Rei to handle? As well as a certain something going on between his captain and a certain icy Russian blader. Kai/Bryan, tiny Tala/Re
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Kai comes back with some unfinished business for Bryan, with Rei in tow. Are the domesticated Blitzkrieg Boys too much for Rei to handle? As well as a certain something going on between his captain and a certain icy Russian blader.

Pairings: Kai/Bryan, dabbles of Tala/Rei

(p.s anybody who reads It's All in the Smile, I have nearly finished the next chapter so look out for it in a week or two)

* * *

"Bryan….Bryan….Bryan….Wake up….Kuznetsov…_now_."

Bryan's eyes snapped open, an instant glare firmly printed in seething dark lavender irises.

"What the hell Tala?"

Tala, hanging over his older friend, let his lips curl into a lazy smile and he leant in close. Bryan physically froze, a small frown touching his expression as he watched the redhead very, very carefully.

"Guess what?" Tala said, in a low, promising whisper.

"What?"

"No…you have to guess."

"I don't know Tala, and I don't care. Tell me or I'll throw you across the room."

"As your captain I could punish you for that."

"As your better I can pummel you for this. Tell me."

Tala's smile grew and he leant in closer, "Kai's back. He's sat in the kitchen. With his bag. And a certain someone."

Bryan blinked.

"What?"

"You know, one day you should flick through the dictionary, Bryan. Extend your vocabulary."

Bryan lifted an arm and swept Tala out of view, sitting up in the same motion.

"What's Hiwatari doing here?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should go and ask him."

Bryan pulled back the covers and lifted his tired body from the bed; a medley of popping joints following. The sunlight poured in a great white arc through the flimsy curtains, white-washing the bare wood floors. Bryan curled his toes; inwardly wincing as he stepped across the drafty, unprotected floor.

'God this house is freezing,' he thought, standing in the centre of the room as if not quite knowing what to do. He looked down at himself. Did he go down and greet Kai like this? Clad in only a pair of boxers and a scrappy old grey t-shirt?

He snorted. He doubt that it mattered; the way Kai looked at him always made him feel naked anyway.

Still, Bryan grabbed his jacket from the bottom of his bed where it was tangled with Tala's, and slipped it over his shoulders.

"Have you talked to him?"

Tala nodded, folding his arms as he crossed to the door, "I left him with Spencer and Ian."

"Why is he here? And whose with him?"

"You've already asked that. And anyway, search me. I thought he was off with Fatso, Blondie, Kitty and the Nerd, but he's obviously not…seeing as him and the cat are sat downstairs."

"_The cat_?...you mean Rei?"

Tala smiled placidly, his usual calm manner barely rippled by this new guest, "Come downstairs Bryan. Say hello."

Bryan paused, hands curling at his side, his gaze fixed to the floor. This was…unexpected, to say the least.

"And Bryan?..." he looked up at his captain, whose eyes danced with a well-hidden excitement and early morning brightness, "…Play nice. Make him stay this time."

Tala brushed open the bedroom door and padded downstairs, the creak of the slowly rotting staircase cutting into the thick white noise whirring through Bryan's ears.

His hands turned into fists as he strode towards the door, following Tala with purpose. Dammit if he was going to hide upstairs like a scared child. Although that was exactly how he felt.

* * *

Something had changed about the Blitzkrieg Boys. Rei was too exhausted to try to figure out what, but there was something. Something so calm, relaxed. It was new to Rei; these guys always seemed to be stringed up on their own determination, high on fierceness. Tala, for example. At every tournament Rei had seen him, his jaw had been set, his eyes hard stone, his posture defensive. Now he lounged back in one of the rickety kitchen chairs, arms loosely folded, amusement apparent in those bright eyes looking out from under blood red hair. He wore a thin white jumper that sagged a little at the shoulder, showing creamy bare skin, and red trousers on his slender legs, barefoot despite the iciness of the drafts whipping at floor level. Spencer was cooking pancakes, obviously trying to keep his grin under control as he listened to their conversation.

Ian was leant forward in his chair, legs crossed, gripping his feet, trying not to get too much into Kai's personal space through his own excitement.

"Why are you here Kai? What did you bring Rei for? Thought you guys were all in the Seychelles or something?"

Kai opened his mouth to reply but halted when a newcomer entered the room. Rei had been surprised to see Tala in this new…state. Nevermind _Bryan Kuznetsov. _It had taken Rei a while, but he'd found it in him to forgive Bryan for the thrashing he'd received during the first world championship. His scars had healed; Bryan had never given him reason to suggest it had been on a personal level. He was just doing his duty. A duty he had thrown away with the rest of his team mates. Although somehow Rei doubted the shackles of Boris had been entirely broken from these teens' minds. Kai included.

"Can you believe it Bryan?!" Ian cried, pointing and gawping, "And after you said he'd never come back! Ha-ha. Told you there was no reason he wouldn't."

Kai looked from Ian to Bryan, but didn't say anything.

"What are you doing here?" Bryan asked, not unkindly. He seated himself next to Tala, giving Rei a sideways long look, "And you, Kon."

Rei shuffled in his seat, his nervous smile flickering, "I…met Kai at the airport. I had nowhere to go. He suggested I came with him."

"I thought you and your team were in the lap of luxury on a holiday?" Bryan enquired, picking up an apple from the sparsely filled fruit bowl.

Kai tilted his head to the side a little, studying Bryan under his bangs, "Tyson got food poising. We had to cut the holiday short. Except Rei had no way to get back home. I said he could come with me."

"And why would you come here?"

"Do I have to answer to you now, Bryan? I thought Tala was our team captain."

Bryan grunted and Tala rolled his eyes, sighing something in his mother tongue before turning completely to Rei, "I'm guessing you're staying with us then, Rei. Come on, I'll show you where you can sleep."

"Th-thank you," Rei said, jumping up quickly, "I'm really sorry about this. It's just…my flight wasn't for the end of the month. Mr Dickenson is on his own holiday; I can't get anyone at the BBA to get me another. I can't afford one myself."

Tala jerked a head towards the stairway, indicating the way to go, and the two disappeared through the doorway and upstairs up the groaning staircase.

"Be honest: how terrified was Rei when you suggested he came with you to see us?" Spencer asked with a smirk, spinning the pancake mixture around the pan.

"I thought he'd had a seizure," Kai conceded.

Ian laughed, rocking forward on his chair, "Wow he must have been freaked. Your team are terrified of us."

Ian gushed on about their arrival, probing Kai with questions. The phoenix didn't crack. He watched Bryan out of the corner of his eye. Bryan's long, pale legs stretched out before him, half under the table. His strong, slender back slightly arched against the back of the wooden seat; his hands working the knife to peel the skin from the apple. The curls of bright green falling to touch the soft skin of his forearm, stark against his pale skin. His lavender-hued hair spiky at the back from sleep, although Kai could tell he kept it mussed and unkempt as always still.

"Kai? Kai? You listening?"

"What, Ian?"

"Tell me. Why are you here?"

Kai paused. He knew Bryan was listening, even though he kept his eyes fixed on the long trail of green sliding onto his lap.

"I thought I should see the place. I wanted to see you all domesticated," Kai said with a slightly mocking smile.

"Hey, we're pretty good at it. Look, Spencer can make pancakes. He's a great cook. So is Tala. And he's got an order; you know, for who's going to do the washing up and stuff for the day. And I do the food shopping; its pretty crazy at the market so it helps that I'm small. And Bryan…" Ian smile twisted and turned to look at Bryan, "Bryan is Bryan."

"Shut up Midget," Bryan snarled. He snapped the apple skin with two slender fingers and threw it at Ian's head.

"Oi!"

Bryan stood up, gripping his apple in his hand, and shouldered his way out of the front door into the morning light.

"What's up with him?" Spencer asked, frowning.

"Dunno," Ian shrugged. Spencer fixed his eyes on the back of Kai's head, looking as if he might actually know the answer to his own question, "Ian, help me with these," he said, rattling the pan.

"Oh yeah, sure."

Ian jumped up and trotted to his friend's side, eyes fixed hungrily on the whisk dripping pancake mixture.

Kai waited a moment, listening with an inward smile to the sound of Rei and Tala talking upstairs. He could just imagine the Chinese blader's disbelief. It must be a shock for Rei to see a more…'human' side, to his old team mates. All he had seen of them so far were The Demolition Boys – Boris' tools. The Blitzkrieg Boys – attempted championship title stealers.

He stood, sliding his hands into his pockets and exciting through the front door. He might as start on the main objective of his stay.

"Avoiding me?"

Bryan ignored Kai, crunching down onto his apple with a little more ferocity than was needed. When Kai let the pause drag on, he growled and snapped, "No. I'm not."

Kai joined him on the veranda, curling his legs underneath him. The wind battered at his hair and face, and he narrowed his eyes against its powerful drive.

"What do you want, Hiwatari? Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Why?" Bryan snorted, "Couldn't you have just talked to us on the phone? Tala's always yakking on that thing. It's ridiculous. We can't even afford our heating bills nevermind his bloody phone bills."

"I didn't mean talk to you as a team," Kai said, turning to align the centre of his back with one of the white posts holding up the porch roof, "I meant you, Bryan."

Bryan took another bite of his apple, chewed tensely, then turned to look at him.

"Shit," he grunted. He stuck the knife into the wood beneath him.

"Thanks," Kai smirked, "That's a great help."

"Well what do you want to talk about anyway?" Bryan snapped, tugging the blade back out of the wood and then slamming it back in, "Thought you didn't want to talk to me at all."

"I didn't."

"But you do now?"

"Exactly."

"About what?"

"What the hell do you think?" Kai's voice started to hum with irritation. The pause lasted longer this time, the wind buffeting at the ancient wood around them. Discerning groans and creaks rose from the aching joints of the old house. Kai wondered how the hell a winter could be survive in this house.

"I wanted to know something, actually," Kai conceded, watching Bryan carefully.

"What?" Bryan asked, not looking up from the knife quivering where it was dug into the wood.

"Whether you still hated yourself for that night."

Bryan gripped the knife in one hand and smacked the apple down onto the floor with the other. He glared down at the yellow-chewed grass of their dirty front garden.

"Why?" he finally managed to force out.

"I thought I'd get you as close to apologising as you are ever going to."

Bryan bit down on his lip, and turned to catch those blood red eyes looking right at him. His chest felt like the air had been suckered punched from it, vacuumed into nothing. His heart squeezed tight.

* * *

Upstairs, Tala had frozen still.

"What?" Rei asked, alarmed.

"Sh. I'm listening."

"To what?"

Tala grabbed a surprised Rei by the front of his shirt and dragged him to the window, leaning close to the glass. Listening.

"What?"

"Can't you hear them?"

Tala positioned Rei where he was, "Can you hear them now?"

"Kai and Bryan?"

"Yeah."

"But I don't understand what they're saying, they're speaking in Russian."

Tala leant over Rei, listening, placing one hand on the small of Rei's back to steady himself. Rei's eyes widened like saucers as Tala's chest touched his back, the redheads' breath breaking over the back of his neck. He felt the delicate touch of Tala's hair behind his ear, where the blood was pounding so loud he could hardly hear the conversation he was meant to be eavesdropping on.

"They're talking about what happened."

"What happened when?"

"What happened the last time they were together."

Tala leant closer to the window, straining to hear. In the process, leaning more against Rei, his other hand now on Rei's side.

"Ha-ha," Tala chuckled, eyes fixed downwards, listening intently, "You have much to learn Rei."

With a grin, Tala straightened, and headed towards the door, "It'll all be explained in due course, I expect."

Rei felt his knees buckle, his breathing hitched slightly. Following, he had to take stock of the situation at hand. Two of the _strangest_ things had just happened.

He had a) been practically felt up by Tala Ivanov and b) found out that there was something harbouring between Bryan and Kai.

Shaking slightly, he followed Tala back downstairs.

He had no idea what the hell all of this meant.

* * *

Don't worry guys, it's going to be Bryan/Kai centric, but of course there will be a little Tala/Rei on the side because I love that pairing too:D

Sorry if it was a bit slow, its very late at night and this is just how I'm writing right about now.

Now….who wants to review?! puppy dog eyes


	2. Chapter 2

Title changed to Russia - thanks RussiansNekojinlover! For some reason the search engine wasn't working so I couldn't check if there was another fic called Russian Roulette, although I guessed there was. Bet there's one called 'Russia' too, but can't be bothered to change it again…

Continuing straight on, basically…

* * *

"Fuck you," Bryan said, with a lazy snarl, going back to looking at the trembling knife, "I don't need you to tell me when to apologise."

"I didn't."

"Yes you bloody did!"

Kai snorted, "You're so easy to wind up, Bryan."

Through the paper-thin walls, the sound of Ian and Spencer bickering over the breakfast rang through the pause. The silence fluttered on the wind, both of them looking in different directions. Bryan gave Kai a fleeting glance out of the corner of his eye and caught sight of something Kai hadn't noticed.

The wind had whipped Kai's scarf back, the very end tangling into a dead pot plant sat by the door behind them. Bryan smirked, then after a moment or two began to chuckle.

"What?" Kai asked, eyes a little wide. Then he narrowed them, warningly, "What, Bryan?"

Bryan dug the knife back into the wood and, before Kai could say anything else, leant in very close.

"Wouldn't want you strangling yourself on our front doorstep."

He reached out a hand and pulled at the end of the scarf. The fabric was plucked away from the sharp dead twigs, fluttering into Bryan's hand. On reflex he curled his fingers around it. They twitched at the familiar silky feel. Moving forward in a quick movement, he wrapped the ends of the scarf one more time around Kai's neck.

"Thank you," Kai said, very aware of how close to him Bryan suddenly was.

Nevertheless, he wasn't surprised when cold hands gripped the side of his neck, pulling him closer, finding himself eye-to-eye and pretty much nose-to-nose with the Falborg owner.

Bryan Kuznetsov didn't do many things in halves.

A shiver wormed its way up his spine, and it took a moment or two for him to relax enough to breathe.

"Bryan-"

"You know the answer to your own question Hiwatari. You know I scared myself. I was fucking terrified. You know that I'm sorry. You know I want you back."

Kai paused, eyes fixed solely on Bryan's.

"I didn't ask you that."

"That would be your next question."

"Of course."

Kai closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against Bryan's and pulling him closer, the wind snatching at their clothes and hair.

"You taste like apples," Kai mused, once he'd got his breath back.

"Is that what you came all this way to do? Jump me? Where do you get your timing from?"

"Well I had nothing better to do, apart from watch Tyson throw up. Watching him suffer from over-eating was only satisfying for a day or two."

"You're wicked Hiwatari."

Cue Kai's most wicked grin as he hungrily took more long-awaited kisses from the older Russian boy.

* * *

Rei was more than just nervous about living with the Blitzkrieg Boys. He was weak at the knees with terror. He stood at the bottom of his new bed, arms wrapped around himself, staring down with wide eyes at his lone duffel bag perched on the pillow. He'd been given time to unpack, but his limbs seemed to have frozen unwillingly.

What was he _doing_? Why did he follow Kai at the airport? Why didn't he just stay where he was? He'd been practically rooted to that waiting lounge chair for close to a day, why didn't he just stay there instead of launching himself across the room like an idiot to catch up with his captain? He'd just thought that maybe Kai could give him a hand getting home.

Rei never expected to end up tagging along to the new residence of his captains' old team mates. What had he got himself in for?

"Get a room you two."

"Oh God they're at it again! Tala make them stop!"

"That took you about half an hour Kai, well done."

Rei frowned, turning to the noises downstairs. What was going on? The staircase flexed with the weight of someone coming up the stairs. Two people.

Was that…?

Kai and Bryan burst into the room, Bryan's hands grappling at Kai's slender hips, and Kai doing very little to stop him.

They both froze, Kai desperately trying to keep a smile under control. Bryan narrowed his eyes, "Beat it Kitty."

Rei made a 'meah' noise, and bolted out of the door with the lightning speed he was known for. He'd managed to get to the bottom of the stairs before the door slammed shut behind him.

"What the hell was that?" he blurted out as he stumbled into the kitchen, feeling more than a little disorientated with the sudden burst of adrenaline. Tala's lips twisted into a wry smile, "_That_, is Kai and Bryan."

"They're….they're _going out_?"

"In a fashion," Tala said, raising his eyebrows a little, "Sit down Kitty, or you might fall down."

"I'm just…shocked," Rei said, taking Tala's advice and sitting down heavily in a chair across from him, "I mean…I've known Kai for three years. He didn't say anything about Bryan and him…"

"Well if it makes you feel any better, it's only been going for two years. Here and there."

"Here and there?"

"They argue like an old married couple," Spencer conceded, looking up from his paper, "And Bryan keeps screwing it up."

"How do you mean?"

"What do you think? You've know Kai. Us Abbey kids are hardly known for our emotional openness."

"So, the last time they were together…they split up? Why?'

"I think it's best if you just watch and learn," Tala smiled, nabbing the sports section before Spencer could reach it, "It's more fun that way."

* * *

"What did Tala say?" Kai asked as he sat up in bed, eagerly taking the coffee from Bryan's hands. Bryan slid down next to him, holding his own mug in one hand, shuffling to get comfortable against the pillows that had been rucked up against the headboard.

"His exact words were: 'I'm not going near that bed if you two have had anything even close to sex in it.'"

"Maybe we do have to change the covers then," Kai smirked, lips touching the mug. He drank, thankful for the bitter taste. Bryan hadn't forgotten how he liked his coffee, then. Warm, strong caffeine hit all the pleasure sense he hadn't already worn out in the last two hours or so.

"I heard the front door. Where did they go?"

"They're taking Kitty to the market. Show him around."

"You have to stop calling Rei 'Kitty'. He might be neko-jin but it doesn't mean he's actually a cat."

Bryan shrugged, "Close enough."

He leant forward, biting on the tips of Kai's ears, "I thought Rei was going to pass out when he saw me. I'm guessing he knows about us now."

"Living here will take some getting used to for Rei. He wasn't exactly expecting it. Or to find I'd been with you without telling him."

"He'll get used to it," Bryan said, in a non-committal fashion, abandoning his coffee and wrapping an arm around Kai's naked waist.

"Did he ask you anything about it?"

"No. He just looked very wide-eyed."

Bryan noticed the camp bed at the foot of the double bed; Rei's duffel lying woefully alone at the head of it. Kai noticed his icy look.

"You're just going to have to keep your hands off me until we find some privacy," Kai teased lightly, turning to look at the bed too. He downed the last gulp of his coffee in one go, relishing in the scorching hot liquid stinging the back of his throat.

"And we'd better make the most of any time we do get," Bryan finished, waiting until the cup had hit the bedside table and not a second later before he pounced. Pinning Kai under him with one hand on his hip, the other planted next to his head, Bryan looked down triumphantly at his captive, the front of his hair sticking to his brow and temples.

Bryan's smile was feral, possessive. Kai gave him a chaste kiss unable to stop himself from laughing, "The Great Russian Blader Bryan Kuznetsov: needy and possessive."

"I'm not fucking needy."

"Possessive, then."

"Only because you keep running away," Bryan growled, although he butted his head under Kai's chin in an affectionate way as he kissed hard down the younger boy's throat.

"Actually, I was thinking whilst I was away…" Kai said, trying not to get distracted as Bryan's hot kisses trailed their way further down.

"Hmm," he moaned, arching his back a little.

"Yes?" Bryan prompted, smiling against the bare skin of Kai's stomach, "You were thinking whilst you were away about…?"

"About why _you're_ always on top."

Bryan stopped just north of where Kai really wanted him to be. Bryan looked up, cocking a brow, "Why I'm always on top? Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"Well…you're smaller than me. Younger than me."

"Is that it?"

"And when we did it the first time you let me be on top."

"_So_?"

"Kai," Bryan scowled, resting his forehead against Kai's stomach in mild despair, "Does it matter?"

"No. I was just thinking."

"Well can you not? I thought we were a little busy."

"Fine," Kai shrugged, stretching himself out, "But I didn't just 'let' you be on top the first time."

Bryan, who had been starting up on his trail downwards again groaned and sat up, "What the hell? Course you did."

"No I did not," Kai smirked, "I was young and impressionable and you coerced me."

Bryan snorted, "Yeah, right. I'll believe about as soon as I'll believe the idea Ian's in for a growth spurt soon. Kai, you were so up for it you would have let _anyone_ do you."

Kai kicked him in the side with his foot, sitting up and glaring at the falcon, "No I was not."

"Yes, you were."

"No wonder I keep 'running away'," Kai snarled, pulling himself away. Bryan caught him before he got too far, rolling him over so that he once again he was pinned underneath him, this time eye-to-eye.

"I'm not having you run away again," he said, in a low voice, pushing down hard as Kai tried to gain some leverage.

"Well then maybe you not be such a prick," Kai suggested. Bryan pressed his lips against Kai's with a chuckle, teasing them open and eventually winning dominance. He settled a hand on Kai's stomach and slid his hand down to finish what he had meant to start before.

* * *

"Tala! Tala! _Tala_!"

"What?" Tala murmured, not looking up from his book. A moment later Ian's short figure was stood determinedly in front of the sofa, hands on hips.

"They're doing it in the shower!"

"How do you know?"

"I can hear them!"

"Then don't listen you dirty little pervert," Spencer quipped from across the room, leaning close to the screen to try to listen to the sports headlines.

"They can't do it in the shower! We all go in there! It's…ew I don't even want to think about it."

"Then don't," both Tala and Spencer snapped. Rei chuckled into his own book, watching from the corner of his eye as Ian stormed back into the kitchen. Spencer grumbled and leant closer to the screen, "Stupid volume on this thing, I'm going to miss the Beyblade bit-"

Biting into the silence was a bloodthirsty yell from upstairs. Tala groaned, "What did the Midget do now?"

"I'm going to rip your tiny little head off Ian!"

Bryan hurtled down the stairs, dressed only in his hastily yanked on jeans, belt hanging open, dripping water on the bare wooden floor as he stormed into the kitchen.

"Please don't kill him Bryan!" Tala called, shaking his head.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want with him!" Bryan snarled venomously in response from where he had Ian backed into a corner.

"Shut the hell up I can't hear the sport!" Spencer roared above it all, grabbing the TV screen with two hands and pulling it to mere inches away from him.

Kai appeared in the living room doorway, towelling his hair dry. He wore some low-riding sweat pants for bed, and a navy blue t-shirt harmonising with the darker colour of his hair. He squeezed some water from the ends of his hair and gave his Bladebreaker team mate an understanding look.

"What did he do?" Tala asked, looking up from his book.

"Spun the taps down here. We got blasted with cold water."

"He does realise that it takes more than cold water to calm you two down, doesn't he?"

"Obviously not."

Kai retreated back upstairs, swinging the towel over his shoulders. Tala turned to an alarmed looking Rei with a light smile, "Don't worry Rei. I'll look after you."

"Thanks," Rei responded, meaning it, as the sounds of Ian's panicked yells increased.

* * *

"Nyet…nyet…"

Kai blinked, confused. He shuffled under the warm protection of the covers, moving a stiff arm as he tried to get his bearings. He peered up through his bangs, scruffy with sleep. Behind him, Tala's heavy breathing was constant and steady, as was Rei's somewhere across the room. Bryan, however, was sat up on their side of the bed, talking in whispers on his phone.

"You can't do this…no…I swear if you…no…"

Kai frowned. Bryan's voice was shaking at the edges.

"Stop…Ok, Ok…yes…I will…I am…I know…"

He snapped the phone shut, and leant forward with his elbows on his knees, his hand hanging low.

"Bryan?" Kai whispered, reaching out a hand and catching the blader's side. Bryan didn't turn.

"Bryan? Who was that?"

"No-one."

Kai sat up, curling his arm around Bryan's waist, "Then-"

Bryan threw off Kai's arm, arching away from his touch and standing up off the bed.

"Bryan." Kai snapped, making to follow him.

"Go to sleep," Bryan bit, leaving the room before Kai could respond. The stairs complained as he disappeared downstairs. Kai scowled after him, gripping the covers in a fist. He slid back into bed, wrapping the covers around him from the cold.

Who the hell was Bryan talking to?

* * *

Apologies for any OOC-ness, I never plan it, I just hope it doesn't happen!

Thank you for the reviews so far! Really appreciate them. Keep them coming!


	3. Chapter 3

"So how long have you guys lived here

Thanks for the reviews guys! They make me very happy.

Sorry about no line breaks: edit/preview wasn't working _again_ so I've just put a line of Ps. Sorry!

Enjoy

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

"So how long have you guys lived here?"

Outside, a bitter wind howled. All the residents of the house sat huddled in the living room around the open fire, determined not to acknowledge the fact that due to the lack of heating the house was slowly chilling them to the bone.

"Three months or so. We got it after the whole BEGA scenario."

Rei shivered slightly, hugging himself around his mug of hot chocolate. He'd found a tub of it at the back of a cupboard; apparently chocolate and Ian didn't mix well, so they hid it as far up and back as possible so that he couldn't reach. Rei was glad he found it though: the chocolate and warmth were keeping him going.

"How do you pay for everything?"

"Mr Dickenson pays our rent, and we pay the utilities."

'Ah,' Rei thought, dipping his head back down to his mug, 'That's why there's barely any water or electricity…and no heating'.

Rei had survived his first night with the Blitzkrieg Boys. It had been surprisingly easy for him, although he was having a hard time getting over a few things. One: Kai and Bryan. They sat together on the side of the sofa closest to him and Tala. Not snuggled up together, not wrapped up in each others arms, just…together. Close. Rei still couldn't believe it.

_Kai Hiwatari _and _Bryan Kuznetsov_?

Tyson would blow a few blood capillaries if he ever heard that.

Another thing he was finding difficult to comprehend was what the Blitzkrieg Boys were doing here in the first place. In Rei's mind, outside of the tournaments this team didn't exist. A little harsh for him, he knew, but really: what did these guys do in between blading? He knew they trained; everybody but him had been up early that morning and he'd found all of them in various states of training throughout the day. But what had they done when Voltaire had been taken down? In between tournaments, it seemed impossible for them to be part of the normal world.

"Take-away arrived," Spencer announced unnecessarily as he arrived with arms laden with pizza. He dumped them on the coffee table and taking a seat leant against the footstool.

"Touch my pizza and I break your hand," Bryan snarled at Ian, whose fingers were inching towards the closest one.

"That's not fair! You're a terrible sharer Bryan."

"I don't share," Bryan snapped, grabbing the box from him.

"Yeah, apart from your bodily fluids with Kai."

Bryan kicked out and Ian wailed in protest, "Tala!"

Tala stood with a sigh, "Want a drink Rei?"

"Uh, yeah, please," Rei smiled, snapping out of his reverie. As the redhead walked away Rei couldn't help but notice Tala had grown an inch or two taller than Kai. Not that Kai needed height, he demanded enough presence as it was, but still he had the suspicion that that might irk his captain. In fact, all of the team were taller than him, apart from Ian obviously. Rei grinned into his cup. What he wouldn't give to grow a few inches taller than Kai Hiwatari

Kai shuffled next to Bryan, leaning in closer to his warmth. Even he had to admit, the house was freezing. He couldn't wait to get into bed and wrap his arms around Bryan; the falcon always had a strong body heat. Kai doubted he'd ever need a blanket again if he demanded Bryan slept with him every night of his life; something Kai could definitely get used to.

Kai gave his Bladebreaker team mate a glance. Rei seemed to be doing Ok. A little freaked, but Ok. They hadn't really had a chance to talk since they had arrived; Kai felt slightly guilty at having not explained everything with regards to Bryan.

They hadn't even had a chance to expand on the lie they'd told about why Rei had come along with Kai.

Anyway, Tala seemed to be getting on with Rei. Kai smirked inwardly. Knowing his old captain, there might be a new coupling out there to shock the world soon.

He gave Bryan a sideways glance, who was reading the back of the newspaper with little interest. Without thinking he ran the pads of his fingers along Bryan's jaw line.

"What was that?" Bryan asked, without looking up.

"You need a shave. You've got stubble."

"What if I wanted some stubble?"

"Why would you want to look like an idiot?" Kai replied with a smirk.

"I'd suit stubble."

"Tala." Kai drawled, prompting the redhead. Not looking away from where he was now sat flicking through their mail, Tala said, "You'd look like an idiot Bryan."

"You sound like a bunch of girls. What happened to guys, you've all gone gay." Ian sneered, arms crossed and glowering. Bryan threw out a hand and grabbed a fistful of Ian's hair, squeezing tight.

"Let go!"

"Care to repeat that Ian?"

"No! No! I'm sorry! Let go!"

Bryan twisted painfully, then released.

"Looks like you're going to have to shave anyway," Tala said, flipping the letter he had over and reading the back, "We're invited to a party."

"What kind of party?"

Tala spread the letter out in front of him and scanned the paper, "The BBA are hosting a celebration of the start of the new world tournament. All participating teams are invited. So we've got an official invitation."

"What kind of celebrating is it?" Ian asked, frowning, "We don't have to talk to some stupid journalists do we?"

"It's a formal dinner and then a 'party at which alcoholic beverages will be served'," Tala chuckled, reading from the letter.

"What the hell are 'alcoholic beverages'? Can't they just call it booze?"

"It's called having class, Ian."

Ian responded with a crude word in his mother-tongue and turned back to the television to watch the sports with Spencer.

"I'm guessing the Bladebreakers are invited," Tala said, looking up at Kai and Rei, "Just think of that. You two have to be chaperones for a drunken Fatso."

"An excitable Tyson is bad enough, nevermind a drunken Tyson," Rei sighed, looking pained.

Tala placed the letter and turned to Rei with a fiercely piercing look. Rei tried desperately not to fidget under the intensity of it.

"I'm trying to imagine what a drunk Kitty is like," Tala said finally, sounding amused.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Rei said, blushing violently. Kai was only half listening to the conversation; much to Ian's disgust Bryan was currently paying attention with hot, biting kisses to the side of Kai's neck. But he caught the gist of it, and smiled to himself at the idea of a drunk Rei. After the first World Championship Rei had been too full of medication from Bryan's beating to drink; after the second he got a little tipsy but the alcohol was being dispatched under the tight control of Tyson's father; and after the third he just simply hadn't drunk at all.

"Why?" Tala enquired innocently, although he knew the answer and simply wanted to watch Rei squirm.

"I just…don't drink, really. Drink was never really that strong where I came from and so I never got used to the taste."

Tala grinned wickedly. Kai would have rolled his eyes if he didn't already have them shut and narrowed due to Bryan's administrations.

"Do you mind not doing each other on the sofa?" Ian piped up, as Kai and Bryan's lips eventually met and Bryan pulled the flushed younger blader closer. Bryan gave him the finger.

"You gonna do that in front of the cameras at the party? That'll give them something to talk about. In fact maybe they'll cancel it in complete horror of what they witnessed."

"Come on," Bryan growled, pulling Kai upstairs.

"He's going to make you pay for that, Midget," Tala noted, handing Rei the letter from the BBA to read, the door to their bedroom slamming shut upstairs.

"It's true though," Spencer said, content that he'd finally been able to watch the sports is semi-peace, "They've only ever been together when there isn't a circuit on. Are they going to dodge the press or are they going to be open about it?"

"Who knows," Tala said, snaffling the remote from Ian whilst he ate his pizza, "But if it does come out we're buying every newspaper under the sun the next day."

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

The phone trilled on the bedside. Kai opened an eye, looking over at the hone with a hint of annoyance. It was midnight, who was phoning Bryan? Downstairs the TV was blaring, although he had suspicions Tala and Rei had moved into the kitchen for some form of peace and quiet from it. Kai smirked. Likely excuse. He knew the redhead's moves and he knew all too well that he was putting them into place vis-à-vis a certain nekojin blader. Not that he had anything against it. Rei might be good for Tala, although he wasn't quite sure how Tala would be good for Rei.

Bryan was asleep next to him, heavy breathing falling into a relaxed rhythm. His arms were wrapped around Kai's waist, chest against his side, chin on his shoulder, hair mixed with his. Kai considered two options.

moving to answer Bryan's phone. The pros of this were that he would find out who the mystery caller was, and then he could get back to sleep. The cons were that he would have to move out of the fierce warmth of Bryan's hold. And, potentially, that he would regret knowing who the caller was.

Ignoring Bryan's phone. Pros were he could go back to sleep and not have to move from Bryan's warmth, but the cons were that it could continue to ring and he would never know who dared call Bryan Kutsenov at midnight.

Eventually making a decision, Kai curled an arm out from under Bryan's, and extended it to the still ringing phone. Before he could grab hold of it a hand gripped his upper arm hard, the fingers digging into the pale skin. He turned, coming face to face with a very awake Bryan.

"Your phone is ringing," Kai said. Bryan's face flickered with a scowl and he stretched to retrieve it. Before he could touch it Kai flicked the black mobile with his finger and the phone skittered across the bedside table, too far away for Bryan to reach. Bryan's eyes narrowed coldly, "Give me it."

"Who is it?"

"How am I supposed to know if you don't give me it?"

"You're a bad liar Bryan."

"Give me it," Bryan snarled, gripping Kai's arm harder.

"Who is it?"

"Fuck," Bryan snapped, pushing down on Kai's arm and moving over him to roll out of bed, "None of your business."

He scooped up the phone as he left, shouldering into Rei in the hall and nearly sending the poor nekojin flying down the stairs.

"Bryan watch where you're going," Tala sighed, righting Rei and leading him into the room. The minute Rei entered he felt a chill run down his spine which drained the strength and colour from him. That and the glare Kai was giving the space where Bryan had been.

"Um…I'm going to use the bathroom," Rei said, grabbing his bag and exiting sharpish. Tala took a moment to survey the scene before crawling onto the bed, settling himself down next to Kai with a knowing look on his face.

"Shut up," Kai grumbled, turning towards his friend. Tala ran a hand through Kai's hair, wriggling in under the covers next to him.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

"You're right. I was going to say 'I can't believe we're going through this again.'"

Kai pulled the duvet up over his shoulders and buried himself underneath them, giving Tala only a low 'hn'.

"What happened?"

"Someone's been ringing him. He won't let me know who it is."

"Who the hell would ring Bryan?"

"Exactly." Kai toned, closing his eyes and turning his face into the pillow.

"Look, Kai," Tala continued, squirming down to Kai's level, not allowing him to escape, "Do you honestly think this is going to work? You've been together again for, what, a day? And you've already fallen out."

"Night Tala," Kai said, ending the conservation. He thought he might have got away with it when Rei returned and the three settled down to sleep. Tala ruined that little victory though by whispering in his ear, "You're going to have to stick with it this time, Kai, to make it work. Because if you leave again I don't think you'll be coming back. Will you?"

Kai didn't reply. He mimicked heavy breathing until Tala settled.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Bryan scowled at the television set. Not because it had done anything specific to irk him, he just simply had nothing else to glare at, or to blame. Apart from himself.

'You're so lucky you selfish bastard,' he thought with a glower, 'You waited so long for him to come back and you're going to let it all go again. Just because you're too fucking weak to do anything about...this _thing_. You're pathetic.'

The door creaked as it moved open a fraction. A slight figure broke the moonlight spilling in through the large living room windows. They hadn't any curtains to cover them and a draft whipped in at floor level. The newcomer walked over, sliding onto the sofa next to him, resting his hands on his legs.

"It's two in the morning. Riveting conversation, was it?"

"Hn."

Kai leant in close and landed a kiss on the side of Bryan's neck, stretching his arms over Bryan's flat stomach and wrapped them around his hips.

"Why are you sat downstairs on your own?"

"If I had tried to get back into bed you would have kneed me in the crotch."

"Probably. But I need you as a hot water bottle. Tala has no body heat to speak of."

"So you would have kneed me in the crotch and then let me into bed just to keep you warm?"

"Hm-hn."

They fell into silence, Bryan trying to contain a smirk at his boyfriends superficiality. Kai gave the phone on the coffee table a glance, but decided not to say anything.

"You know Bryan," he whispered in Bryan's ear, making the hairs on the back of Bryan's neck stand on end, "If something happens, like it did last year…I'm not going to come back. This time either I stay, or I go altogether."

Bryan inwardly nodded. He'd figured as much. Tala had said it to him numerous times since Kai had returned. On several occasions whilst passing him in the corridor, he'd pulled the older blader aside and whispered it in his ear just as Kai was doing now: 'If you screw up again he's not going to come back. He can't keep doing it. You have to hold onto him or he'll be gone.' Bryan groaned under his breath. He loved to give ultimatums but he hated being snared into one. He wanted it to be just him and Kai. Simple. But he knew Kai was serious. If they argued again, if they split up in the same sort of circumstances as last time, Bryan doubted Kai would think twice about leaving the idea of them as a couple altogether.

With a sudden flare of nerves that threatened to overtake him, Bryan turned his head and caught Kai's lips in a searing kiss, pushing the smaller blader back so that he lay flat out on the sofa. He ran his hands down his sides, the fingers of one hand meshing with Kai's, gripping tight, the other holding Kai's slender wrist to keep him from pushing him away.

He rested his forehead against Kai's, feeling instantly swamped in those mahogany dark eyes.

"Fine," Bryan said, eventually, "Deal."

"Good."

Kai kissed under Bryan's chin, lips curved at the corners, "So are you going to tell me whose been calling you or do I have to find out?"

"Don't start," Bryan sighed, trying to drown the younger out with kisses.

"I'll start whenever I want to start."

"Shut up," Bryan chuckled, removing the hand holding Kai's wrist and sliding it under the boy's t-shirt. Kai's eyes widened and he squirmed, "Ah, cold."

"I've been sat down here for hours, I'm freezing," Bryan grinned, pinning a wriggling Kai underneath him with his body, "You're my hot water bottle now."

He ran his hands up under Kai's shirt, tickling the warm skin with his freezing hands, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing tight, chuckling as Kai squirmed and bucked. He held on, laughing, knowing that deep down he wanted to do the same thing to their relationship. Hold it tight, look after it, keep it safe. The idea of losing Kai made Bryan feel worryingly sick and lonely.


	4. Chapter 4

I am so sorry about the delay! I'd had it half written, then I lost it, then I found it again, then Iwanted to change it, and then blah blah blah, but anyway, it's up now!

I'd like to say thank you to Rapunzelle who gave me a great reminder that I should update!

And thank you to all the other reviewers, I do really aprpeciate it.

* * *

Kai was cold. He didn't think he'd ever been this cold; and he'd lived in the Abbey. He shivered violently, even though Bryan and Tala both had their arms wrapped around him and they had an extra blanket over their duvet. He cursed when his teeth started to chatter audibly. Despite his Russian heritage, Kai found it hard to deal with extreme temperatures when he slept. Outside in driving wind and snow he could wear very little and be alright, but the minute his body started to shut down for sleep his ability to keep in warmth plunged.

Jaw set to stop the chattering, he squirmed closer to Bryan's hot body and buried his head into the crook of his neck. How was Bryan sleeping in only a shirt and pair of shorts? Kai tucked his shaking hands against Bryan's t-shirt, hoping the warmth would bleed through the thin cotton.

"You cold?"

Bryan's voice was gruff at the edges with sleep, but he spoke in a soft whisper against Kai's hair. Kai nodded his head, letting his teeth pick up their chattering again. Bryan pressed a kiss on the top of Kai's head and slipped from the covers. He disappeared for a moment in the darkness, swallowed by the shadows, then reappeared with one of his hooded sweatshirts and another blanket. Kai slipped the hoody on and Bryan tucked the blanket around him, before pulling the duvet back over them.  
"Better?"  
"Yes, thank you," Kai smiled, giving Bryan a brief kiss before squirreling into the warmth again. Bryan wrapped his arms securely around his boyfriend's waist and felt the pull of sleep at his eyelids. As he drifted away, he vaguely thought he might have heard the far away purr of his cell phone. On silent, it only vibrated, but he was sure he could hear it somewhere in the pile of his clothes. Too tired to reason with himself, he let his eyes fall closed.

* * *

"Get off me."  
Kai planted his hands against Bryan's chest and pushed, rolling the older Russian off him. It took a moment for him to untangle his legs from his extra blanket, but with some squirming managed it.

"Why?"  
"I need the bathroom."  
"No you don't, stay here," Bryan said gruffly, locking Kai to him with one strong arm. Tala grumbled in his sleep at being jostled.  
"Bryan, I really need to pee, get off me," Kai mumbled into Bryan's hair, trying to wriggle away. His heel connected with Tala's shin and a second later a hand slapped Kai over the back of the head.

"Ow."  
"Then don't _kick_ me. What the hell are you doing?"  
"I'm _trying_ to go to the bathroom but apparently I'm not allowed."

He peeled himself from Bryan – who was already drifting back off to sleep – and shuffled out of bed.

"Good job at making up with him," Tala said with a long yawn, curling his body as small as he could as he turned towards Bryan.

"Hm?"

"I'm not repeating myself."

After a moment, Bryan rearranged himself to be able to talk to Tala with minimal effort. There was no way he could get back to sleep now.

"You mean last night? _I _didn't make up. He did."

"How?"

"I'm not telling you the entire conversation, Tala, ask Kai if you're desperate."

Kai eased the door closed behind him as he returned. He stepped over Tala and wriggled down under the covers. Looking more content, Kai buried his face in Bryan's neck and curled into his warmth.

"What time is it?" Bryan asked, trying to rearrange himself around Kai.

"Six. Stop wriggling."  
"Dammit, I slept in."

This time Bryan pushed Kai away and he staggered, a little drunk from sleep, from the bed.

"Bring me a coffee Bryan," Tala mumbled into the pillow as he and Kai snuggled in together, enjoying having a little more space in the bed.

"No way."  
"Ok, then Ian takes your place in the next world championships."

"Fine," Bryan replied snappily, pulling on a shirt.

"Can I have one too Bryan?"  
"No you can't Kai. And you're not captain so you can't take me off the team."

"No, but I can withhold sex."  
"Fine," Bryan growled again, toeing his shoes on, "I'm going for a run with Spencer, _then _I'll make coffee."  
All he got was light breathing as the two settled back down into sleep. Grabbing his phone and letting out an irritated sigh, Bryan left the room and trudged downstairs.

"Morning," he said in a non-committal voice to a sleepy-looking Rei.

"Morning, Bryan. Spencer said you guys were going on a run; do you mind if I come along?"  
"Knock yourself out," Bryan replied, peeling a banana. As he ripped off the top, he keyed into his phone and blinked at the message on screen.

Two missed calls.

Bryan recognised the number with a cold blast of fear.

'Fuck,' he groaned inwardly, 'Fuck, I am going to pay for that.'

* * *

"How was your run?"  
"Good. You two need to get off your arses and do some exercise."

Bryan planted two cups of coffee on the bedside table. Two pale hands shot out and grabbed the mugs, "Thanks Bryan."

"Did Kitty go with you?" Tala asked, sitting up with his hands wrapped around the mug.  
"Yes."  
"Was he Ok?"

"Fine."

Bryan's one syllable answers were replaced with the light tapping of his phone keys. Kai narrowed his eyes as Bryan hunched in the corner. He itched to ask Bryan what was doing; more than that he longed to take the phone off him and crush it under his heel. But he'd promised himself not to over-react and maybe crushing his boyfriend's phone for being secretive was going a little too far.

He also didn't feel up to arguing with Bryan again; it took more energy than he'd ever realised.

"Are you coming back into bed?" Tala asked with a yawn, glugging down the last of his coffee.

"No, I'm not lazy," Bryan grumbled, snapping his phone shut, "I'll be back in a minute."

"Where are you going?"  
"Out."  
"Where?"  
"Out."  
"_Where_?"  
"_Out_, Kai, _out_! Just _out_. It's none of your business."

The only response was the slamming of the front door as Bryan left, and the low growl in the back of Kai's throat.

"It's strange," Tala murmured, putting down his coffee cup, "He seems to become more of a bastard the minute you two get back together."  
"Where do you think he's gone?"  
"Who knows. Maybe he's having sex with someone else."

"Shut up," Kai snarled, giving Tala an acid glare. Tala sighed and shuffled closer, wrapping one arm around Kai's waist. Red hair mixed with blue as he leant his head on Kai's shoulder.

"Kai you know I'm joking, he won't be cheating on you. Even when you weren't technically together he didn't sleep with anyone else."

Kai scooped up some clothes from the floor and started to get dressed, face fixed into a frown.

"He didn't sleep with anyone?"  
"No. No-one. Apart from you and maybe the rest of the team, he doesn't especially like other human beings does he?"  
Kai moved slowly to the side of the bed and fingered the corner of the hoodie Bryan had given him in the early hours of the morning.

"What's wrong?" Tala asked, suspiciously, "Did...did _you_ sleep with anyone when the two of you weren't going out?"

Kai's following silence made Tala jump up straight, "_Kai_?! You never told me! Who was it, who did you sleep with?"  
"Tala-"

"Come on, Kai, you're my friend! I need to know all the dirty details of your sordid little life."  
"No, you don't...you just like to tell me all of yours."

"Kai, come on, tell me. Who did you sleep with?"

Kai toed on his shoes and left the room with a scowl. Downstairs, Rei was collapsed on the sofa with a look of quiet pain on his face.

"Are you alright?" Kai asked, knowing how blatantly obvious that he wasn't.

"Those guys are like machines. They barely broke a sweat."  
"Do you want some water?"  
"Yes please."  
Kai returned to the living room a few moments later with a large glass of cool water and the newspaper. He handed Rei the water and flopped onto the sofa opposite him, "Do you want anything else?"  
"Yeah. New legs," Rei groaned. He tried to sit to sip the water but he only managed to sit up an inch or two before dropping back with a whimper, "Are you sure your boyfriend isn't The Terminator?"

"No," Kai smiled, turning to the sports pages, "But I do doubt he's entirely human."  
"I can agree with that," Rei sighed, "Where did Bryan go anyway? I heard him rush off outside a few minutes ago."

"I don't know," Kai scowled, "And I don't care."  
Rei raised his eyebrows, "Do you guys always fight like this? Because you had a fight last night but Tala said you'd made up this morning."  
"It's complicated," Kai grunted. He caught sight of a Beyblade headline and turned his attention to the article, leaving Rei to moan in pain to himself.

**Can the Bladebreakers **_**really **_**do it again?**

The headline made Kai's existing frown deepen. He was the captain of said team and he couldn't even say for sure. The competition was fierce, and the Bladebreakers...Kai had the suspicion that growing up had done the Bladebreakers more harm than good as a team over the past year.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Kai growled. Bryan smirked at the agitated tone in Kai's voice. He knew what that meant; Kai was reaching the end of his tether with something and that was never good.

"What's wrong?" he asked not looking up from the book he was reading. The house was unusually quiet, and Bryan had made a very Bryan-esque attempt at apologising to Kai, but still Kai fumed silently.

"Nothing." Kai said, after a short pause. Bryan looked up, suspicious. Kai usually liked to vent when something annoyed him, despite the common view that was he was continually silent. Intrigued, Bryan leant forward to try to read what Kai was looking at the screen. Kai snapped it shut.

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing," Kai said, with a 'shut up and don't ask' look on his face that Bryan decided he was going to completely ignore. Bryan snatched the laptop away whilst Kai was busy giving him the look, just about managing to keep his boyfriend away with the foot of one extended leg placed against his stomach, pushing him away. He pulled up the screen and was hit by the Entertainment part of the online Russian news. He read silently. then threw back his head and cackled.

"What the hell?" Kai scowled, "It's not bloody funny."

"Yes it is! God, was it a slow day at the office or something? Where the hell did they get this from? 'Kai Hiwatari, Beyblader extraordinaire and heartthrob, is rumoured to be in a relationship with Julia from the Barthez Battalion.'" Kai flung a pillow at Bryan's head and growled,

"It's not funny."

"My god, how bored are these guys?! If they knew that you were about as straight as a roundabout they might actually have something to write about!" Kai turned his head away and sighed heavily, wishing he'd never opened up the stupid news website. After a while, a familiar voice whispered in his ear, warm breath tickling his neck.

"Don't pout."

"I'm not pouting."

"Yes you are," Bryan took Kai's chin in his hand and turned his face towards him, "See? A pout. You look like Tala when we run out of ice cream."

Kai tried his best to give Bryan an icy glare. He was still angry about Bryan's previous outburst, but it was sort of hard to stay angry when Bryan was only inches away from him, and he had that heavy, smoky look in his eyes like he was about to kiss him. Nobody could think about glaring when they were that situation.

"I don't know why I keep forgiving you," Kai said, as a last ditch attempt to keep some of his anger intact. Bryan unfortunately ruined it once again by pressing his lips into his, and Kai found himself melting into a kiss that completely eradicated all anger at a) being accused of being heterosexual and b) teased by his boyfriend. After a few minutes more he was having a hard time remembering why he was angry in the first place, and within a short amount of time he was barely able to remember who and where he was.

"Ugh, God you two get a room!"

Bryan lifted himself up onto his elbows, glaring hard enough for the both of them. Kai lay underneath him ('I don't even remember getting here' he thought, with a small frown) and joined in with the pissed-off expression. "We did get a room. This is it. You just barged in without knocking."

"I did knock. I knocked twice. You two were just too busy making up for lost time with each other."

"What do you want Tala?" Kai snapped.

"We need to go to BBA. We've got a meeting." Bryan rolled his eyes and heaved himself off Kai.

"I hate those damn things."

"Wait, what meeting?" Kai asked, standing up with shaky knees. He slapped himself mentally to snap himself out of it.

"We have to go to the BBA headquarters in Russia weekly," Tala sighed, shaking his head so that the red bangs shook loose from behind his ears. "It's to make sure we're not starving ourselves to death or getting contagious diseases from this crappy house."

"And you guys actually go?" Kai enquired, not able to stop the surprise coming to his voice. The Blitzkrieg Boys - him included – were only ever really interested in how their body was doing when they were in the Abbey or, afterwards, in the middle of training. Otherwise they felt quite comfortable letting their good habits of eating and exercising takeover.

"It's part of the deal. Unless we have a very good reason, we have to go to every check up or we get the alternative option."

"Which is…?"

"A care home. Now come on, I don't want to have to think of a good excuse as to why we're late again." Kai watched Tala disappear downstairs, calling 'Kitty!' as if he were calling a dog to heal. What a strange relationship that could turn out to be, he mused, before turning to Bryan who was pulling a jacket on. "So you actually let a BBA doctor come near you? Wow. Is there a spectator stand or something?" Bryan pulled a face and grabbed his boyfriend by the hand, dragging him down the stairs. He really did hate going the stupid checkups, but it prevented them from going to a children's home and getting split up, amongst other things. The only people he ever allowed near him were Tala and Kai, and in the Abbey the doctors were pretty much an everyday occurrence whether you liked it or not.

As they headed out of the door, Rei trotting along behind Tala with a wide-eyed look, Kai snagged Bryan's cell phone from the kitchen table.

"I think," he said,, interjecting himself between his best friend and Bladebreaker team mate, "Rei and I will go off and entertain ourselves whilst you are busy."

"Fine by us," Tala said, with a shrug, "But if you go anywhere near a shop remember to get some ice cream," he said, in a grave tone directly to Kai before they peeled away to head towards the BBA building.

"I will do, Tala," Kai said, with a small amused smile.

"We'll ring you when we're finished," Spencer said in his usual pragmatic way as he followed after the redhead.

"Bye," Bryan said nonchalantly, leaning over Kai's shoulder and pecking him on the cheek, dipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out a lose note.

"Oi," Kai cried, as Bryan walked away with it.

"What, I'll need it for the vending machine." Bryan said, innocently, disappearing after the others.

"Do they even have vending machines in BBA buildings?" Rei asked, doubtfully, as they watched the small group leave.

"If Bryan wants there to be one, there will be."

Rei chuckled and followed after Kai as he started towards town. "So, what do you want to do?" he asked casually as they made their way through the relatively busy town centre. Kai came to a sudden halt and turned to look at Rei with that look on his eye Rei knew to avoid. Except now he was pinned with it and he was starting to shake.

"I want you to call your parents, Rei," Kai said, gesturing to the phone box.

"No, Kai! I don't want to. Really."

Kai gave a pointed look, and Rei felt his resolve crumble.

"But I don't know what to say to them."  
"Just ring them, Rei."

Rei sighed and pulled some coins from his pocket, "Fine."

As Rei started to feed in the coins, Bryan's mobile started to purr in Kai's pocket. Kai instinctively grabbed the phone and flipped it open.

"Yes?"  
There was a pause. When the caller spoke, his voice sounded amused; pleasantly surprised.

"Kai? Well, I haven't heard your voice in a while."

"Who is this?"

Rei had just finished dialling and only half listening to Kai's own phone conversation, but he heard the next word loud and clear.

"Dad?"

* * *

It's an extra-long one this time, although probably not extra-good. Tell me what you guys think!


End file.
